Psychologists Test Anime-Based Therapy in Japan for Mental Health
A new experimental proposal has been drawing attention as a way to assist young adults facing emotional difficulties: anime-based therapy. The initiative is being conducted by Japanese researchers as an alternative form of online psychological support aimed at people between 18 and 29 years old.
Psychologists Test Anime-Based Therapy in Japan for Mental Health
The project began on October 1, 2025, and is being developed by the research center Minds1020Lab, affiliated with Yokohama City University, in partnership with the company Dai Nippon Printing. The initiative functions as a feasibility test and is initially scheduled to run until June 2026. Even in its experimental phase, those responsible believe the idea could become a complementary model for mental health care in the future.
Currently, around 20 participants are taking part in the study. At the start, each person chooses an avatar from six original characters created exclusively for the project. These characters were developed in collaboration with Italian psychiatrist Francesco Panto, a visiting researcher at the Japanese university.
Each avatar has its own backstory, defined personality, and specific conflicts, allowing psychologists to conduct follow-up sessions in a more personalized way, according to each participant’s emotional identification.
The support sessions take place entirely online and use an interactive structure similar to that of a visual novel. During the sessions, participants interact with their chosen character, follow their narrative, and discover details about their past and personal struggles.
The proposal is that immersion in a fictional world helps make it easier to address sensitive topics such as emotional suffering, internal conflicts, interpersonal relationships, and social difficulties, making the process less intimidating for those who are resistant to traditional therapy.
According to the researchers, the use of anime characters helps create a more comfortable and accessible environment, encouraging young people to open up more easily. To evaluate the results of anime-based therapy in Japan, participants complete psychological questionnaires before and after the counseling period. This data is used to measure changes in emotional well-being, stress levels, and perceived mental resilience.
Minds1020Lab is part of Japan’s COI-NEXT program, a national initiative that brings together universities, companies, and institutions with the goal of developing innovative solutions to social problems. The laboratory was created specifically to study issues related to young people’s mental health and to develop methods that help strengthen the emotional stability of this generation.